LeFort I segmented osteotomy experience with piezosurgery in orthognathic surgery.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this work was to present the LeFort I segmented osteotomy in consecutive patients using the piezoelectric system. A descriptive study was designed for patients operated on between November 2012 and January 2014. All the patients presented some type of skeletal anomaly and underwent orthognatic surgery via piezoelectric osteotomies. Each maxillary surgery was developed with that system and those patients who also received osteotomies with a reciprocating saw were excluded. Surgical time and complications were analyzed. 19 patients underwent surgery consecutively with an osteotomy average time of 45 minutes. The patients operated on at the beginning were longer surgeries, whereas the final cases were 40 minutes. No type of laceration of vascular elements or laceration of palatal tissue was observed. The protocol was fully implemented, incorporating all the advantages of piezoelectric systems. It is concluded that the LeFort I segmented osteotomy can be performed with low risk of injuring soft tissues and in a time probably less than 50 minutes for the maxillary osteotomy.